The Beehive, N9

Randomness Guide to London - Beehive entry

Randomness Guide to London - Beehive entry

This award winning country farm house style pub guards the road that leads to the picturesque local beauty spot of the pub's name. The pub is well signposted in the local area and fairly easy to find. The doorway leads to a flagstoned corridor with the main bar off to the right.and a second room to the left. The main beam has typically low wooden beams with an orderly collection of brasses and open fireplace where the pub cat or one of the local dogs will probably sprawled out. Old photos abound as well as snippets telling the story of the rock itself (the pub is a good place to start / end the walk but make sure you use the pay & display down the road rather than the pub car park unless you have permission). The large fireplace next to the bar has been turned into an intimate and quite cosy snug and is handy for ordering the beers without having to get up. Not a great selection on the beer front – 4 pumps – 2 x Tribute and 2 x Tinners and prices above average. Food also looked a bit pricey the people who were eating seemed to have generous portions and it did look pretty decent. The atmosphere was quite relaxed with piped music and a no mobile phone policy. The second room was not very sympathetically furnished and containd lots of modern art which seemed out of place in the room but I would imagine that it is generally only used in busier periods or for functions. To the rear is a beer garden with bench seating and quite pleasant when the weather allows. In Cornwall, country pubs like this are fairly commonplace and whilst it is a decent enough place and worthy of a visit, it probably won't leave you counting it among your favourites.

The Beehive is a former small two room pub, that was knocked through into one bar and is one that has benefited from the smoking ban as the low ceilings usually meant it was an ideal place for passive smoking. It has also benefited from a post smoking ban makeover and a new landlord that has brought back a bit of TLC. Still a one bar pub, the makeover has made a lounge / public bar feel to the two ends. The north end of the pub is now mainly for food service and the available menu and specials chalk board provide a reasonable choice of menu which on the couple of times I have tried it has been good. The patch of green grass attached to the north end has also been turned into a decent garden area. The long middle of the bar still provides a decent space for those who prefer to stand whilst drinking and the pool table, fruit machines, dartboard and large screen plazma TV give the south end a more public bar appeal. But the biggest improvement has been the beer and there are now regularly four real ales on, IPA, Speckled Hen, Draft Bass and London Pride. The Bass and Pride I usually go for have always been well kept. It’s still primarily a locals pub with a loyal following, and last year it was awarded the Enfield and Barnet CAMRA branch pub of the year for 2009, and due to my historical affinity for this boozer, its good to see it on the up.